National Common Minimum Programme1| 27.05.2004 | Text of the Common Minimum Programme released by the United Progressive Alliance in New Delhi and adopted by the UPA cabinet as the National Common Minimum Programme

President's address to Parliament2 | 07.06.2004 | Text of the address by President APJ Abdul Kalam to the joint session of Parliament on (President interpreted the mandate as one for restoration of rule of law)

PM's address to the nation3 | 24.06.2004 | Text of the address by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to the nation (PM interpreted NCMP goals in terms of efficiency and equity, rationale for social sector commitments as equity and made reference to unplanned urban development as problem)

President's address to the nation on the eve of the 58th Independence Day4| 14.08.2004 | Text of address, "Education for Dignity of Human life"

PM's statement at his first national press conference6, reiterating that the mandate is for a government "that believes in fostering an inclusive society" and the objective is "higher rate of economic growth, but that growth process must generate more employment, must be equitable, socially just and humane" | 04.09.2004

6.Dr. Manmohan Singh's opening statement at the Press ConferenceThe PM reiterated that the mandate is for “a government committed to secularism and that believes in fostering an inclusive society” and the objective is “the country must forge ahead with a higher rate of economic growth, but that growth process must generate more employment, must be equitable, socially just and humane”.

8.Sonia pledges to implement CMPUnited Progressive Alliance chairwoman Sonia Gandhi on Thursday said the coalition was committed to implement its Common Minimum Programme in "letter and spirit". "The document, prepared in consultation with all pre-poll allies [of the Congress] and others supporting the coalition, reflects the mandate of the people, which was the mandate for a strong, secular government, which will work and care for all sections specially women, youth and the weaker and the poorer sections," Gandhi said.

11.Sonia heads Council to implement CMPBy Our Special Correspondent NEW DELHI, JUNE 4. The Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, has been appointed chairperson of the National Advisory Council to implement the Common Minimum Programme of the United Progressive Alliance.

12.World Bank praises CMPFinding "sense" in the Common Minimum Programme of the United Progressive Alliance government, the World Bank on Thursday said India could at least grow by 6 per cent over the long term, but containing fiscal deficit was important.

16.CMP council to be funded by PMONEW DELHI: The National Advisory Council to oversee the implementation of the UPA government's Common Minimum Programme, headed by Sonia Gandhi, will draw its funds from the budgetary allocation provided for the Union cabinet.

19.Left threatens to withdraw supportJuly 15, 2004 20:15 IST The Communist Party of India (Marxist), on Thursday, warned the government against any breach of the Common Minimum Programme and indicated that it would not hesitate to withdraw support if the CMP was not implemented sincerely.

22.12-member coordination panelBy Anita Joshua NEW DELHI, JULY 31. The proposed coordination committee — envisaged as a mechanism for consultation between the United Progressive Alliance Government and the Left parties — will be a 12-member body and will, in all likelihood, include constituents of the ruling coalition. Six members will be from the four supporting Left parties, the UPA will be represented by the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, the chairperson, Sonia Gandhi, and four members of the Government who will participate in the meetings depending on the issue before the committee.

23.`Left for continuation of UPA Government'By Our Special Correspondent CHENNAI, AUG. 2. The Polit Bureau member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), Sitaram Yechury, said today that the rumblings in the National Democratic Alliance only showed that its constituents were upset at being out of power.

24.NDA withdraws boycottBy Javed M. Ansari NEW DELHI, AUG. 3. The National Democratic Alliance today withdrew its decision not to participate in parliamentary committees. It is learnt that the "lists" of nominees of the NDA parties have been sent to the Speaker's office and the committees are expected to be constituted in a day or two.

25.Working of coordination panel to be formalisedNEW DELHI. AUG. 4. The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) and the Left parties today agreed to formalise the working of the coordination committee. At the end of a three-hour meeting they appeared keen on giving the impression that there was a commonality of approach and willingness to create the right environment for the smooth functioning of the Government.

26.Inter-Ministerial task groups set upNEW DELHI, AUG. 5. The Planning Commission has got down to the task of implementation of the programmes and policies set out in the Common Minimum Programme (CMP), with the setting up of seven inter-Ministerial task groups to decide on the action needed for those areas where the agenda is cross-sectoral, requiring action from various Ministries. The Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, had ordered the creation of such task groups.

27.'Left wants UPA government to finish full term'Asian Age, 09.08.2004 by A.B. Bardhan

After days of consultations with the upa leaders, the left has succeeded in wresting its demand for the setting up of the upa-left coordination committee. The first meeting of the committee took place on wednesday. Cpi general secretary A.B. bardhan, who is a member of the committee, has asserted that the left will not bring down the congress-led upa government at the centre, despite the serious ideological differences with the congress. in an exclusive interview, mr bardhan told venkat parsa that a mechanism has been evolved for the smooth functioning of the government and there was no threat to its stability. excerpts from the interview:

q: why was this sudden decision on setting up the upa-left coordination committee?

a: if the government is to run smoothly, there has to be a mechanism of consultation between those running the government and those supporting it. it is the left, which has been taking the initiative, for evolving such a mechanism. in fact, after days of consultations, we succeeded in putting in place such a mechanism. a government has to make several decisions, on a day-to-day basis. clearly, we do not interfere in that, at all. but, on major policy decisions, it is wiser to have a pre-decision consultation. where such a consultation is not possible, at least, we expect a post-decision information. this is a better arrangement than being left with no other course open to us but to comment, after everything is done.

q: what if, the government holds on its own, despite such consultations, and does not yield? will you consider the option of withdrawing support to it?

a: we believe that regular meetings of will help resolve the differences between us. all this effort is being mounted only because the left wants this government to run its full course of five years. those who are speculating on its fall will only meet with disappointment and frustration. at any rate, nothing prevents the left, or the mass organisations, from voicing their differences, both inside and outside parliament. we shall not hesitate to lead mass agitations whenever necessary, in order to bring to bear people’s pressure on the government.

q: there has been a raging controversy over the government proposal to raise the fdi cap in sectors like civil aviation, insurance and telecom. how do you view it?

a: let me clarify at the outset that the left is not opposed to fdi entry in general. let the fdi come in sectors that serve national interests. what we are opposed to is raising the cap in sectors like telecom and insurance. this will be against national interest. let me explain it this way. insurance is one major source of domestic savings. if a multinational company defaults, millions of policy-holder would be duped. in a sensitive sector like telecom, let me tell you that no country will allow foreign control over the vehicle of communications. no other country allows the telecom system to go into foreign hands, which, it will, if the cap is allowed to be raised to 74 per cent.

q: on the question of petrol price hike, the government has not adequately responded to your demand for a rollback. what is your stand on the issue? don’t you think that it would add to inflationary pressure?

a: an increase in the prices of petrol from rs 34 a litre to rs 36 a litre is unlikely to push inflation up dramatically. international crude prices had fallen recently. that reduces the pressure on our imports of crude oil. however, we proposed that excise duties on crude oil import should be brought down to zero level and then there would be no need for a price hike.

q: this past week saw inflation rate soar to a three-and-a-year high of 7.5 per cent. is it not a cause for concern?

a: any rise in the rate of inflation is a cause for concern. but i am sure the government is seized of the matter and would be initiating steps to bring the situation under control. let me tell you there are several factors that contribute to.

q: is it because you are supporting the government that you are soft on it?

a: even if it was the bjp government, i would not have said anything. because i know economics. let me put it the other way for you. during the bjp regime, when inflation soared from four per cent to 6.5 per cent, then there was nothing wrong. if inflation has now shot up from 6.5 per cent to 7.5 per cent, that is something terrible?

q: manipur has literally been on fire. but the upa government has been resisting demands for the scrapping of the armed forces (special powers) act?

a: situation in manipur is grim. it is a people’s outburst. it is not the result of something wit the insurgent groups behind it. the depth of people’s anger at the brutal action of the assam rifles can be gauged from the fact that a number of middle-aged women stripped and demonstrated. yes. it is being argued that the armed forces (special powers) act is needed to counter-insurgency. but that does not entitle the army to attack human rights and human dignity with impunity. the horrendous act of killing a woman, and that, too, within hours of arresting her, is one of such acts. i do believe that everything should be done to defuse the situation and respond to popular sentiment.

28.PM reviews implementation of Common Minimum ProgrammeHindustan Times (web edition), 11.08.2004 Press Trust of India New Delhi, August 10

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday reviewed the implementation of the Common Minimum Programme of the UPA Government.

At a meeting which lasted for three hours, he took stock of the progress made by various Ministries on the issues listed out in the CMP, official sources said.

Presentations on the progress on CMP were given by PMO officials interacting with the respective Ministry.

New Delhi, Aug. 18: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has asked his Cabinet colleagues to expedite legislation of bills pertaining to promises made in the Common Minimum Programme and those mentioned in the presidential address made at the beginning of the present Parliament session.

He also asked for expediting the legislation on creation of a separate Telangana state which was included both in the CMP and the President’s customary joint address to both Houses of Parliament.

Other proposed legislations which have been mentioned both in the CMP and the presidential address is the bill seeking to strike down the Prevention of Terrorism Act and the Seeds Bill.

According to government sources, there are about 39 bills, some of which have been mentioned in the CMP and others in the presidential address.

At the instance of the Prime Minister, the government has made four categories of the commitments made in the CMP, the presidential address and those which have been made in both and those which require only departmental action, such as release of drought funds.

The Cabinet secretary, therefore, has prepared a 25-page report listing all these promises. The home ministry itself has some four such bills on its hands including Pota and Telangana.

Under instructions from the Prime Minister, the Cabinet secretary, Mr B.K. Chaturvedi, sent a reminder to all the concerned ministries on July 28. But none of the ministries bothered to respond.

On August 5, he filed a report stating that so far there has not been any progress on most of the issues. The only exception is the preparation of the draft of the Lok Pal Bill. Meanwhile, when Telangana Rashtra Samithi president K. Chandrasekhar Rao was asked to confirm this, he said, "Yes it did figure in the Cabinet meeting."

30.Do not deviate from CMP: YechuryRANCHI, AUG. 22. The Communist Party of India (Marxist), a key ally of the United Progressive Alliance Government at the Centre, today warned the Manmohan Singh Government against deviating from the Common Minimum Programme.

32.'CPI (M) will not allow Congress to hold sway over Government'VARANASI, AUG. 23. The senior Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader and Polit Bureau member, Prakash Karat, has said that his party, being a partner in the United Progressive Alliance Government at the Centre, will not allow the Congress to hold sway over the Government. Talking to UNI here, Mr. Karat said his party extended support to the Congress to keep communal forces away from power and it would not be allowed to neglect policies concerning the common man.

The new master plan under preparation will aim at making Delhi a beggar-free and slum-free city. It emphasises on development with a human touch where the unorganised sector, elderly, children and disabled will also get facilities.

A presentation on the conceptual approach of the new master plan was made before Lt.-Governor B.L. Joshi and Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit by DDA officials.

According to the plan, the unorganised sector including domestic servants, will be given facilities. They will also be able to avail of co-operative and collective community rehabilitation programmes.

The new approach is in tandem with the UPA government’s directive of development with a humanface. Environmental considerations and heritage conservation have been given priority in the plan.

This would mean that permission will be granted only to particular categories of industries and for certain types of fuel. Importance will be laid on tackling water and noise pollution.

On the traffic and transportation front, DDA has emphasised on restructuring of the Mass Rapid Transportation System (MRTS) so that maximum number of people are encouraged to use it, rather than buses and private cars. Bicycle users and pedestrians will also get their due. Parking space will be given special emphasis.

The development agency has also decided to integrate infrastructure with development. This means that water availability will have to be ensured for all development projects.

34.'Inspector raj' in small industry will go: ManmohanNEW DELHI, AUG. 30. The Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, today assured the small industry that new laws would reduce the impact of "inspector raj" even while making a fresh commitment in support of this critical segment of the economy.

35.Group formed for quota in private firmsNEW DELHI, AUG. 30. The Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, has constituted a Group of Ministers to examine the feasibility and desirability of affirmative action, including reservation in the private sector for the Schedule Castes and Schedule Tribes.

36.Panel on infrastructure set upNEW DELHI, AUG. 30. In line with its commitment to improve infrastructure, the Government today set up a high-level committee to be headed by the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh. The Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, will be the member-Secretary.